January 1986 Lebanese Forces coup
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January 1986 Lebanese Forces coup | |
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Part of the Metn | |
Result |
Pro-Geagea/Kataeb Victory
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Kataeb Party Militia
- Special Force
Karim Pakradouni
Amine Gemayel
On January 15, 1986,[1] forces loyal to Lebanese president Amine Gemayel and Samir Geagea, intelligence chief of the Lebanese Forces (LF), ousted Elie Hobeika from his position as leader of the LF and replaced him with Geagea. The coup came in response to Hobeika's signing of the Syrian-sponsored Tripartite Accord that aimed to put an end to the Lebanese Civil War.[2]
Background
The tussle between Samir Geagea and Elie Hobeika for control over the Lebanese Forces (LF) had started as early as March 1985. That same month, Samir Geagea gained control over the LF after defeating the last leader of the Phalangist militia,
There was a dispute over whether to retain links with Israel and how to react to Syrian-sponsored negotiations to end the fighting. Hobeika broke LF links with Israel and supported the negotiations between the LF, the Lebanese government, Syria, and Druze leaders such as Walid Jumblatt. Geagea opposed the negotiations which he claimed would make unacceptable concessions to Syria and weaken the Lebanese Christian community's political power.
In October 1985, with negotiations in progress, skirmishes took place between Geagea's supporters and Hobeika's supporters, where Hobeika's supporters tried to bribe Geagea's supporter's to betray Geagea. In December 1985, a peace agreement, the Tripartite Accord, was reached. It was signed by Hobeika for the LF, but the LF Command Council was split, with only half agreeing with the deal. In addition, the agreement was criticized by the former President of Lebanon
The coup
Samir Geagea and president Amine Gemayel decided not to accept the agreement, with Geagea's LF faction attacking Hobeika's LF Loyalists' positions in east Beirut on 8 January 1986, being backed by the
The support of the Kataeb to the pro-Geagea LF faction during the conflict that ensued proved decisive in the defeat of Hobeika, resulting in his ousting from the command of the LF, which was subsequently taken over by the victorious Geagea. The defeated Hobeika escaped from east Beirut in a helicopter and made his way to the town of
See also
- Amal Movement
- Lebanese Armed Forces
- Lebanese Civil War
- Lebanese Forces
- Lebanese Forces – Executive Command
- Mountain War (Lebanon)
- Weapons of the Lebanese Civil War
- Young Men (Lebanon)
- 9th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon)
Notes
- ^ Viorst 1995, p. 180.
- ^ Geha 2016, p. 60.
- ^ "Lebanon: Information on the Jaejae, Hobeika and al-Kataeb groups". Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ^ Collelo, Lebanon: a country study (1989), p. 223.
- ^ Barak, The Lebanese Army – A National institution in a divided society (2009), p. 115.
References
- Geha, Carmen (2016). Civil Society and Political Reform in Lebanon and Libya: Transition and Constraint. Routledge. ISBN 9781317290230.
- Viorst, Milton (1995). Sandcastles: The Arabs in Search of the Modern World. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 9780815603627.
- Oren Barak, The Lebanese Army – A National institution in a divided society, State University of New York Press, Albany 2009. ISBN 978-0-7914-9345-8 – [1]
- Thomas Collelo (ed.), Lebanon: a country study, Library of Congress, Federal Research Division, Headquarters, Department of the Army (DA Pam 550-24), Washington D.C., December 1987 (Third edition 1989). – [2]
Further reading
- Jean-Marc Aractingi, "La Politique à mes trousses ",Chapitre Liban, Éditions L'Harmattan ,2006
- Denise Ammoun, Histoire du Liban contemporain: Tome 2 1943-1990, Fayard, Paris 2005.
- ISBN 0-333-72975-7
- Éric Micheletti and Yves Debay, Liban – dix jours aux cœur des combats, RAIDS magazine n.º41, October 1989 issue. )
- Joseph Hokayem, L'armée libanaise pendant la guerre: un instrument du pouvoir du président de la République (1975-1985), Lulu.com, Beyrouth 2012.
- Ken Guest, Lebanon, in Flashpoint! At the Front Line of Today's Wars, Arms and Armour Press, London 1994, pp. 97–111. ISBN 1-85409-247-2
- Matthew S. Gordon, The Gemayels (World Leaders Past & Present), Chelsea House Publishers, 1988. ISBN 1-55546-834-9
- ISBN 0-19-280130-9
- Samuel M. Katz, Lee E. Russel, and Ron Volstad, Armies in Lebanon 1982-84, Men-at-Arms series 165, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1985. ISBN 0-85045-602-9
- Samuel M. Katz and Ron Volstad, Arab Armies of the Middle East wars 2, Men-at-Arms series 194, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1988. ISBN 0-85045-800-5
- Steven J. Zaloga, Tank battles of the Mid-East Wars (2): The wars of 1973 to the present, Concord Publications, Hong Kong 1998. ISBN 962-361-613-9